The Bush-era machismo of the title aside, it's hard to imagine that anyone would need to venture beyond the sound of Lou Ann Barton's third album – or the expanse of leg she flashes on the album's cover – to understand that this woman means nasty business. At age thirty-five, after nearly two decades of live performance, this formidable Texas singer has pulled together a set of her favorite R&B burners, and the results are incendiary.

Barton's power as a singer derives not from assertive posturing but from her intuitive understanding of the emotional demands of her material. Her ability to range from a bluesy moan to a fetching country twang in a single phrase makes her voice a living testimony to the roots of American popular music. She sounds equally convincing – and equally strong – whether she's scorching a rocker like "Rocket in My Pocket," telling the hard truth on a searing cover of Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose a Good Thing" or squeezing the sadness out of "It's Raining," a ballad written by Allen Toussaint and defined by Irma Thomas.

In addition to assembling a fine selection of songs, Barton has kept matters simple and straightforward in her coproduction with Paul Ray. There's nothing fancy or fussy here; the undeniable force of the playing, the singing and the songs tells the whole story. Guests like saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, harp player Kim Wilson and guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and David Grissom help out bassist Jon Blondell and drummer George Rains, and their performances, far from being star turns, are entirely of a piece with the tunes. In Vaughan's case, Barton coaxes forth some of the most relaxed, articulate playing of his career, particularly on "Sugar Coated Love" and Slim Harpo's delightful "Te Ni Nee Ni Nu."

Read My Lips combines the immediate pleasures of live performance with the ongoing rewards that recorded music must provide. "Let's go someplace where we can rock a bit," Barton sings invitingly, but with this disc spinning, you won't need to move a step.

Read My Lips is available from Antone's, 2928 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78705. (RS 562)

ANTHONY DECURTIS